Hey, it’s a brand new game.
One of the worst problems of the San Fernando Valley, besides the horrific smog, is that it gets majorly hot. It’s one of the parts of Southern California that really needs air conditioning.
There are lots of museums in the valley:
The Andres Pico Adobe in Mission Hills
The Archival Center of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the San Fernando Mission in Mission Hills (not the mention the mission itself)
Bolton Hall in Tujunga (unless you don’t count San Gabriel as the Valley)
The Mike Curb Art Museum at Cal State Northridge
The Hall of Liberty American History Museum at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills
Los Encinos State Historic Park in Encino
The Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, as mentioned above
The Warner Brothers Museum in Burbank
I kinda-sorta know that, but I’m a bit fuzzy on the nomenclature. If we consider a “valley” to be any basin surrounded by mountains, then that big basin in California seems to be one big valley. But I’ve noticed that the area north of Sacramento (or Stockton? or Lodi? or ???) isn’t called “San Joaquin Valley”. I wasn’t sure what it is called, though. I think I’ve also seen the name “Butte Valley” for some or all of that area. There is also a Butte County up there.
Similarly, that whole big body of water inside the Golden Gate isn’t all called San Francisco Bay. It is shaped like a hour-glass, with points of land on either side sticking out around San Rafael and Richmond, where the San Rafael / Richmond bridge is. The watery region north of that is called San Pablo Bay. (And even that, in turn, has other smaller bays hanging off the edges of it.)
I think its a local thing. We live in Silicon Valley and yeah, we refer to it as “The Valley” from time to time. Doubt it would be confused with any other valley. Most of the state is composed of valleys. Depends where you live. They are all “infamous” for one reason or other.
So you have “valley girls” and we have “Essex girls” See here http://www.srogers.com/comedy/essex.asp for some cliche jokes.
Sample:
Essex, by the way, is a county to the East of London which used to be mostly marsh land, and where the development is not too dissimilar from the Californian Valley
That’s one definition, but there’s also the “river valley” sense, where a valley is the basin that drains into a particular river - the flatter bits of its watershed, basically (in that idiosyncratic North American usage of watershed, anyway.)
Yup, the Central Valley, which includes the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley. The dividing line between them is not very visible as it’s all flattish around the Delta, but it’s safe to say that Stockton and points south are in the San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento and points north are in the Sacramento Valley. Lodi is up for grabs…
Also called Santa Clara Valley.
Formerly known as The Valley of Heart’s Delight.
(and let’s not forget DEATH Valley)
Obligatory “Valley Girl” link:
Dweezil and Moon Unit performing their dad's song. She sounds just like she did on the record 30 years ago. Very cute, Moon Unit is up on stage dancing with her daughter.You can hear some of the SoCal geographical references - Encino, Ventura, the Galleria.
Sacramento can have it. I’d rather not get stuck there…again.
Hear hear! I also am a Pacoima boy, 1957-1968 (Hansen Dam area) and I’m quite proud of calling it my hometown. I would also be called a “Valley Dude,” by the coastal-living surfers. That was okay by me. I liked living in the valley.
Oh Lord…
But, Lodi produces some very fine Zin grapes!
Now, how about the Simi Valley of Reagen Library and Rodney King Trial fame?
…and the Imperial Valley way down to the Southeast. Much of California’s pattern of settlement is based around the distribution of the inland valleys, what with the topography putting mountains right next up to the shore along most of the length of the state.
kunilou: the Simi Valley is west of the San Fernando Valley, over in Ventura County. It contains an eponymous municipality.
But yeah, in the greater US pop culture The Valley is presumed to mean the SFV. Because of the domination of popular media by Los Angeles-base companies.
Maybe they meant the specific former-L.A. components that would have become separately incorporated. Which I’d still be skeptical about.
If LA Basinites look down on San Fernandans, who do the valley people look down on? The Inland Empire?
People from Bakersfield. Who look down on people from Fresno. Not sure where Visalia fits in the mix.
I can honestly say I never expected 35 year old Gatlin Brothers songs to be quoted here! Awesome!
Fer sure!!
From what I read years ago, both Fred MacMurray and Bob Hope made a killing in real estate by buying up large quantities of SFV real estate before it was developed.